The
General Assembly recessed early on Thursday, March 12, to allow members
time to get their ACC tournament fix but not before introducing 156 new
bills this week. Thus far, the legislature has filed 525 bills
including several proposed amendments to the North Carolina
Constitution.

House Bill 180
is part of the growing list of proposed amendments to the North
Carolina Constitution. If passed and signed by the governor, it would
be added to the ballot of a future election. The bill seeks to extend
terms of the members of the General Assembly to four years beginning in
2020 and limit the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tem to
serving no more than two consecutive regular sessions in that position
starting Jan. 1, 2021.

Senate Bill 271,
also a proposed Constitutional amendment, also seeks to extend
legislative terms to four years but with staggered terms. If the
amendment is approved by voters in the 2016 general election during
which all members of the General Assembly also are chosen, following
that election the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tem would
choose half the members of each chamber to have their terms extended by
an additional two years. The remainder of the legislative members
would run for election for four-year terms. It also would limit members
of the General Assembly to serving four consecutive terms in a
legislative chamber. That wouldn't apply to terms begun prior to Jan.
1, 2017.

HB 203,
if passed into law, would replace the gas tax paid at the pumps with a
usage fee charged for registered vehicles. The first year of the
phase-in, the excise tax would be 18.5 cents and the usage fee charged
to vehicle owners would be$89. The second year, gas tax at the pumps
would be eliminated and the usage fee would rise to $201 per registered
vehicle.

HB 213
is a proposed Constitutional amendment which, if approved by voters,
would mandate that only persons duly authorized to practice law in
North Carolina who have at least five years' experience as licensed
attorneys in this state shall be eligible for election or appointment
as a justice of the Supreme Court, judge of the Court of Appeals, judge
of the Superior Court, or judge of District Court. This section shall
not apply to persons elected to or serving in such capacities on or
before Jan. 1, 1981.

HB 230
also is a Constitutional amendment and seeks to raise the state's
minimum wage from $6.15 to $8.80 per hour. If approved by voters, the
change would take place six months after the election in which the
measure was passed.. After that adoption, each year on Sept. 30, the
North Carolina Department of Labor is to calculate an adjusted minimum
wage rate using the consumer price index or its successor index, as
calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor. Each adjusted minimum wage
rate calculated shall be published and take effect on the following
Jan. 1.

Rep. Bob Steinburg, R-District 1, introduced HB 176
that, if passed into law, would mandate the State Board of Education
require that, as a component of a social studies course required for
graduation, teachers administer a test that consists of the 100
questions from which the United States Citizenship and Immigration
Services selects questions for the civics test administered to
applicants for naturalization. No more than 10 percent of a student's
grade in the course would be based on the results of that test. Those
immigrants taking the test while seeking citizenship are asked 10 of
the 100 questions. Selection of the 10 is up to the discretion of the
hearing officer.

Senate Bill 200
seeks to remove the requirement for safety inspections on vehicles. It
would also eliminate licensing those who do safety inspections and
eliminate the fee distribution from safety inspections. Also in the
bill are changes in fee distribution for vehicle emissions inspections.
The new formula would benefit the Highway Fund and the Division of Air
Quality and remove the Volunteer Rescue/EMS Fund and the Rescue Squad
Workers' Relief Fund as beneficiaries.

SB 225
gets down to the birds and the bees! The bill, if signed into law,
prohibits local government from adopting or continuing any ordinance or
resolution that prohibits anyone from owning or possessing five or
fewer bee hives.

SB 277,
if made into law, would reinstate the annual Sales Tax Holiday for
school supplies and a second one for the purchase of Energy Star
appliances that are energy efficient. Before it was repealed, the Sales
Tax Holiday for certain school items applied during the
first August weekend from Friday until midnight Sunday. The tax
exemption of energy efficient appliances was the first weekend in
November.

HB 201
changes the rules for municipal zoning protests. The bill instructs
that anyone protesting an action should submit a written statement to
the clerk for the respective board at least two days prior to the
proposed vote; the clerk would forward the letter to the board. And, if
passed into law, it would remove the mandate of needing three-fourths
of the voting members to approve a protested change; instead, a simple
quorum would be needed.

SB 242,
if passed into law, would eliminate personal education plans for
students who are at risk for academic failure and who are not
successfully progressing toward grade promotion and graduation,
beginning in kindergarten.

Sen. Bill Cook has filed SB 288,
which lays out a process that, if passed into law, would allow those
who are barred from purchasing firearms due to mental competency to
have their names removed from the National Instant Criminal
Background Check System if subsequently found competent by a judge and
the clerk who first determined competency agrees. Removal from the
system would allow the person to purchase a firearm.

(Sandy
Semans is a retired newspaper editor and reporter who now works as a
free-lance writer. She lives in Stumpy Point. Her update on the
goings-on in this session of the General Assembly will appear weekly in
The Island Free Press, usually on Friday.)